If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules
lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells
like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food
truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle
that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts
her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and
explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is
everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only
one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees.
The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do.
Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s
someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she
can remember.

In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

My Thoughts

I love a good suspenseful book and this one sounded really great. I really enjoyed how the visions seemed to intensify when it got more urgent and how it really reacted depending on how close Jules was to figuring it all out. Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was the family dynamic. The relationship that Jules had with her brother and sister was great. And then there is the whole thing where the boy she has been in love forever belongs to her family's rival! This also touches on mental issues which I thought was a great addition to the story too.

Jules was a character who I really enjoyed. She was flawed in a lot of ways, but it made her very easy to relate to. I loved how her brother Trey is her best friend, and how she will do anything for him or her younger sister Rowan. I feel bad when she starts to doubt her own sanity due to family history of mental issues. She thinks that she might be going insane when she keeps seeing this vision that no one else sees. She somehow knows that it's more than that though, and she really keeps fighting to save innocent lives whether anyone believes her or not. I think she is brave for coming out and telling Sawyer (her longtime love) about it, and her brother Trey. I also think that she is extremely selfless that she is willing to do whatever it takes to prevent the vision from turning out how it's supposed to. Her obsessiveness over Sawyer gets a bit annoying at times, and her little phrase of saying "Oh my Dogs" or "Thank the Dogs" really started to wear on me and it came to a point where I wanted to hit things when she would say it.

There is of course some bit of romance, but it's more Jules pining for Sawyer. Except Sawyer is her family rival and he won't give her the time of day. They used to be friends until their parents found out and forbid them from seeing each other. There are also a lot of secrets that their families are keeping from them too. I loved watching it all unravel. Why their families hate each other so much, the reason behind Jules fathers hoarding, why they can't just get over things and drop the family rivalry.

Now, my thoughts on the audio. I really loved the reader. I thought that she really captured Jules personality really well. She had the emotion and panic, and the little freak outs that Jules has. She vocalized Jules awkwardness, her snarkiness, and her when she is vulnerable. The reader really made me believe what Jules was going through. I honestly think that trying to read this book, I would have really been annoyed with Jules and not connected well. I don't do well with whiny, irritating characters, but I guess I understood her through the readers voice and things that would bother me didn't. I could also feel the urgency of the situation. I think that the audio was fabulous.

Overall I really enjoyed this story as a whole. The plot, the characters, and especially the emotion that the reader was able to bring to the audiobook. If you enjoy audiobook's and are a fan of psychological, suspense books, you should try this one out. It's a very fast listen being just over 5 hours. I flew through this one quickly and am looking forward to the next book.

23 comments:

I really really need to hop on this train and listen to an auidiobook for the first time. I can just never figure out WHEN I would listen to it. I am so curious about this one! Giselle's review really scared me, but we tend to disagree quite a bit and I really liked Cryer's Cross. You have given me new hope for this one, Amy!

I do think that if I had tried to actually "read" this I wouldn't have enjoyed it. I think that Jules would have annoyed me to no end, but with audiobooks I am more tolerant for things that normally would bother me. I listen to audiobooks when I do dishes or exercise. I listen to some in the car, but most have bad words I don't want my daughter to hear lol!!

I'm more tolerant of characters/books in general on audio too! On the flip side, sometimes I don't emotional connect as well (especially if I get distracted while listening). I listen to audiobooks while cleaning house, showering/getting ready, gardening, walking the dog, working out, etc. If you're interested in listening to more audiobooks, consider signing up for the YA Audiobook Challenge! We'd love to have you join us!~ Jen @ A Book and a Latte - Sign up for the 2013 YA Audiobook Challenge!

It's rare when an audiobook makes the story better. Ithink the same thing about the audio version of the Night Huntress series. The books are great, but the narrator makes them amazing. I'm not sure if I would like this book. McMann seems to be either a hit or a miss for most readers.

I have had really good luck with audiobooks. Like The Diviners and Cinder, I thought those made the books better. And I am listening to Beautiful Creatures and I surely would have given up on that book, but am actually enjoying the audiobook a lot. The only other Lisa McMann book I have read (well, listened to actually) was Wake and I didn't like it at all.

It is rare that you find a good audiobook that makes you live the story. For me I think the best audiobook that got me interested in more was The Murderer's Daughters by Susan Randy Meyer. I am glad that read this book in audiobook because suspenseful books are great to hear. I also read the physical book and it was pretty short. Check out if you have a chance.

I have enjoyed her other books but for some reason I never had a strong urge to pick this one up. Sounds like I need to remedy that and grab it next time I see it! I love books where family is important and actually present in the story so that appeals to me and I'm curious about the family hating the other family stuff as well.

Yay I'm glad you liked this one! I still have YET to try an audio book but it definitely sounds like it will be an insanely fun experience because the reader does sound a lot better than if you'd read the actual book because without a voice sometimes you get all like "OMG this book is really annoying me AHH the main character is really whiny!" Which totally gets annoying >.<

Yes! I have found that I have enjoyed a book more listening to it since a lot would bother me otherwise. Jules would have drove me crazy. She still did, but listening to it was okay where as if I was reading it I would have thrown my nook.

I'm curious about this one... I've listened to a couple of books in her other series, but I was underwhelmed. I'm glad I listened vs. read though because I don't think I'd like her writing style. I keep hearing great things about her books though so I want to read some of her other books. Great review!~ Jen @ A Book and a Latte - Sign up for the 2013 YA Audiobook Challenge!

Oh yay! I'm glad you enjoyed this, Amy! Giselle's review scared me a little bit, but this is definitely a reassuring review. I'm not exactly a fan of forbidden love, but I may just give this a try after all! Though if anything I'll listen to it on audiobook or not at all. I tend to have more tolerance with audiobooks than actual books when it comes to things that annoy me. But then again I have an incredibly short attention span so I don't know if - SQUIRREL!

Hahaha!! Luckily this is a pretty short audiobook so I think you could do it. There is no way I could have read this book, I would have given up, but on audio it was good. I still found myself annoyed with Jules though, she is one unstable mess.

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My name is Amy. I am addicted to reading, coffee, and tea. I love gummy bears and twizzlers. My favorite colors are pink and purple. If you would like to contact me email me at booklovingme@gmail.comIf you want to send a review request, please read my review policy page first. Thank you.*I am only excepting limited review requests at the moment. Priority will go to publishers or authors I have worked with in the past. **note: I do not get any compensation for the reviews that I write. They are my honest opinions, and unless stated otherwise, any books I review are purchased by me.

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